MassDOT Unveils Early Plan to Replace New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge

During the day, traffic on the New Bedford-Fairhaven bridge comes to a halt once an hour.

The 120-year-old steel bridge slowly spins 90 degrees until it’s perpendicular to the road, opening up a pair of narrow channels on both sides for fishing boats and barges to squeeze through.

Cars don’t start moving again until the bridge groans back into place. The whole process stops traffic for an average of about 12 to 23 minutes depending on how many boats are steaming by, according to a recent navigational study submitted to the Coast Guard.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is now developing a detailed proposal for a bridge replacement before legislators go back to the governor to ask her to issue the bond.

Last Thursday, MassDOT officials presented a bare bones rendering of the type of bridge they want to build. A pair of new steel towers would essentially lift a stretch of road up like an elevator. The new vertical lift bridge would open faster than the current swing bridge and create a navigational channel that’s twice as wide, enabling boats to pass through faster and traffic to get moving sooner.

This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.